History 115, Fall 2009: The Heroic in the Western Tradition (with some
villains and monsters, too)
Professor Richard Bodek
324 Maybank Hall
Phone: 953-8030
E-Mail Bodekr@cofc.edu
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 1:00 - 3:15 and by appointment
COURSE ORGANIZATION AND GOALS:
We will focus on real and archetypal heroes, monsters, and villains in the western
tradition. The question of what is admirable and what is abhorrent is one of the keys to
understanding a society’s culture and social norms. As we will see, the heroic and the
villainous also have more than a few political ramifications
This course has several objectives:
1) To analyze issues fundamental to an understanding of history
a) How did notions of the heroic and abhorrent change over time and space?
b. How do these ideas and their changes inform us about who we are today?
2) To read and interpret both primary and secondary sources.
3) To learn how to write a research paper, using the Chicago Style.
DISCUSSION:
As you have probably noted, this class gives you the opportunity to consider some
fascinating works. These include epics, poems, plays, and secondary works. Most of
the lectures (and all the discussions) will assume that you have done the readings before
class. There will be occasional unannounced quizzes to allow you to demonstrate that
you are keeping up. The format will be as follows:
Beginning with the September 3 class, a student will be in charge of each reading.
S/he will prepare a 10-15 minute discussion of it to begin discussion.
All other students will bring at least three questions to discuss about the text. (I will
collect these at the end of class)
There will be no discussion leader on those days when we listen to music or view a
film.
RESEARCH PAPER:
The (5-10 page) essay for this class will interpret one important text within the socialcultural-intellectual context in which it was produced. Text is loosely defined here.
Epics, plays, works of philosophy, paintings and operas are all acceptable. You must
use at least four secondary sources in this paper, at least two of which come from
journals.
Your paper will answer the following questions:
----What is the nature of the text you have chosen? What was it meant to accomplish?
----Why did the author write the text?
----What did the author need to know to write the text?
----What does this text tell us about the world in which it was written?
----How do you interpret the text?
EXAMINATIONS:
There will be a take-home midterm and a take-home final.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
RECOMMENDED TEXT:
Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
The combined assignments equal 200 points, divided as follows:
Class Participation:
Overall Quality------------------------------20
Discussion Leading------------------------20
Paper:
First Installment------------------20
Second Installment---------------30
Third Installment-----------------40
Midterm-------------------------------------30
Final-----------------------------------------40
You must complete all assignments. Failure to complete any assignment will result in an
automatic failure for the class. Late papers will lose 10 points per day. Late papers will
not be accepted without an excuse from the dean of undergraduate studies. Each
unexcused absence after the second will lower your grade 10 points.
Grades are as follows:
A =187-200 points
A-=180-186
B+=173-179 points
B =167-172 points
B-=160-166
C+=153-159 points
C =147-152 points
C-=140-146
D =120-139 points
F =119 and fewer points
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is committed any time a scholar or a student presents work as entirely his or
her own, when it derives entirely or partially from another source (either literature or
peers). All material taken from another source (even when the wording is paraphrased)
must be acknowledged by use of a textnote, footnote or endnote. Direct statements taken
from elsewhere must be attributed and marked by quotation marks. Should you have any
questions about plagiarism, discuss them with me. I WILL REPORT ANY CASE OF
SUSPECTED PLAGIARISM OR CHEATING TO THE HONOR BOARD. Anybody
convicted of plagiarism or cheating will automatically fail the class.
The schedule and procedures described on this syllabus are subject to change in the event
of extenuating circumstances
Date
Tues.,
Aug. 25
Topic
Intro
Reading Assignment
None
The Ancient World
Thurs.,
Aug. 27
Tues.,
Sept. 1
Thurs.,
Sept. 3
Gilgamesh,
Enkidu, and
the Heroic
Journey
Noah and the
Flood
Abraham
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Hope Nash Wolff , Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Heroic
Life (Journal of the American Oriental Society,
Vol. 89, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1969), pp. 392-398)
JStor
The Hebrews
Genesis, Chapters 6-9
Discussion Question: Compare the floods in the two
stories? What qualities does Gilgamesh show? What of
Noah?
Genesis 11:26 to 25:10
Abraham, Isaac, and The Jewish Tradition: An
Ethical Reappraisal
Ronald M. Green
The Journal of Religious Ethics, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Spring,
1982), pp. 1-21 (Jstor)
Discussion Question: Comparing Noah to Abraham, did
Abraham act ethically? Was his obedience to God ‘heroic’?
(compare with his bargaining re Sodom and Gemorrah)
Tues.,
Sept. 8
David and
Samson
First and Second Samuel
Book of Judges, chapters 13-16
Thurs.,
Sept. 10
Job: The hero
as stoic
The Book of Job
Nachmanides' Commentary on the Book of Job
Daniel Jeremy Silver
The Jewish Quarterly Review, New Series, Vol. 60, No. 1
(Jul., 1969), pp. 9-26 (JStor)
Discussion Question: Is Satan here the Satan of
Christianity?
Tues.,
Sept. 15
Thurs.,
Sept. 17
Tues.,
Sept. 22
Thurs.,
Sept. 24
Tues.,
Sept. 29
Thurs.,
Oct. 1
Tues.,
Oct. 6
Heroics and
the monstrous
The Tragic
rethinking of
the Ancient
Tests
The Tragic
rethinking of
the Ancient
Tests
The
Philosopher as
Hero
The
Philosopher as
Hero
The Warrior
King
Greece and Rome
Selections from the Odyssey
Euripides, “Heracles”
Euripides, “Medea”
Plato, “The Trial of Socrates”
Plato, “The Death of Socrates”
Discussion: What were the qualities of Socraties that
appeared to be so heroic to Plato?
Plutarch, The Life of Alexander
Rome
Thurs.,
Oct. 8
Tues.,
Oct. 13
Thurs.,
Oct. 15
Tues.,
Oct. 20
Thurs.,
Oct. 22
Tues.,
Oct. 27
Thurs.,
Oct. 29
The Proper
Roman
Plutarch, The Life of Fabius Maximus
Fall Break
Proper Roman The Aeneid (Selections)
Comportment
Roman Hero or Plutarch, The Life of Caesar
Villain
Caligula:
Tacitus, “Caligula”
Roman Virtue
gone wrong
Nero: Roman
Tacitus, “Nero”
Virtue gone
wrong
Christianity
Jesus and
Selections from the Gospels
Judas
Gregory of Nyssa, “Life of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus”
Thurs.,
Nov. 5
Early
Christian
Religious
Heroes
Early
Christian
Religious
Heroes
The Medieval
World
Tues.,
Nov. 10
Thurs.,
Nov. 12
Tues.,
Nov. 17
Thurs.,
Nov. 19
The Norse
World
The Norse
World
The Norse
World
The Norse
World
The Saga of the Volsungs
Tues.,
Nov. 24
The
Beginnings of
Europe
Thanksgiving
Break
The
Institutionaliza
tion of
Heroism
The
Institutionaliza
tion of
Heroism
Einhard, Life of Charlemagne (Selections)
Tues.,
Nov. 3
Thurs.,
Nov. 22
Tues.,
Dec. 1
Dec. 3
St. Athanasius, “ The Life of St. Anthony”
The Saga of the Volsungs
Beowulf
JRR Tolkien, “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics,” pp.
103-30
SCHOLAR
Clare Lees, “Men and Beowulf,” in The Postmodern
Beowulf, pp. 417-38
The Song of Roland (Selections)
Le Morte d’Arthur (Selections)